Wittenberg is a small town on the Elbe, in flat sandy country, and it is the place where the Reformation began. The Town Church of St Mary was the church where Martin Luther preached for decades, and where in 1525 he was married to Katharina von Bora, a former nun. The twin towers rise over the market square, and the interior holds an altarpiece painted by Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop, finished in the 1540s, which shows the Lord's Supper, baptism, confession and preaching, illustrating the new Protestant ideas in a way ordinary people could grasp. Luther himself and his friends appear in the paintings.
The famous event is of course the nailing of the Ninety-five Theses to the door of the Castle Church in 1517, although historians disagree about whether he actually used a hammer and nails or simply sent the text to the archbishop. Whichever the case, the Theses set off a storm, and Wittenberg became the centre of the new movement. Luther's house, the former Augustinian monastery, is now a museum, and Philipp Melanchthon, his closest colleague, also lived here. The Luther sites in Wittenberg and Eisleben were listed by UNESCO in 1996.
The countryside around is flat, with pine forest, heath and wide fields, and it is better suited to cycling than to spirited riding. The Elbe cycle path runs along the river, and the roads are smooth and quiet, with long, straight sections and little traffic outside the town. The Fläming hills to the north give a few gentle rises, and the Dübener Heide forest to the south has pleasant tree-lined roads. The wind is the main challenge, and in winter the flat land can be cold and foggy.
Wittenberg has fuel stations, cafes, brewpubs and restaurants, and the old town is compact enough to walk in an hour. Visit the Cranach courtyards, where the painter's workshop and pharmacy once stood, and try a beer in one of the pubs near the market. The church is open daily, though services and events may limit visiting hours.